We've made it - work is over [and if it isn't for you, I hope it is soon] and we can sit in the corner with our bucket of wine, family-sized tub of chocolate and watch TV without judgement. In case you fancy something savoury with that, my final post before Christmas is this quick brie and cranberry pastry star snack.

This snack idea requires little time but looks festive and special, whether for you or your guests.
Using a star cutter [from thisDIY], I cut 2 stars for each 'bite' of around 2 inches in size.

You can pretty much fill your star bite with whatever you want. You don't need much filling - I opted and found the 1 teaspoon filling ratio to work best, so whether you are opting for a mincemeat filling, nuts, cinnamon mix, nutella, sausage & egg or any flavour that takes your fancy - give this amount a try - much easier to add to than take away!.. a little goes quite a long way in making these snacks.

Brush the outside edge with an egg wash and then place the second star on top.

Finally, press your stars together with a fork and add a few marks in the top to let any hot air escape. Pop in the oven at 180 degrees for 10 minutes [keep an eye on them and remove when browned - maybe turn the tray too if one side seems to be browning quicker than the other]

Leave the stars to cool a little before serving - depending on your filling, you may also want to decorate the star - bacon would be really nice on top of these!

These are great snacks, additions to party food and a relaxing way to spend a bit of time in the kitchen.

That leaves me with wishing you a very Merry Christmas! Enjoy, however you are spending it x

I created a mini hamper for my Secret Santa which included this up-styled poundland plant. In fact, everything used for this DIY was picked up there. They make great table decorations, add to your home festive decor and also make great gifts.

This gift wrap is great if your plant doesn't come ready with a pot, or you don't have one to place the tree in to - simply roll the plastic bag down to the plant pot and stick in place with some tape [this will mean you can still water it without it leaking on to your paper:

To gift wrap the tree, you can use any wrapping paper, tissue paper or decorative paper you wish [you could even make your own!] - but I opted for a simple brown paper.

Cut a square of the paper - use the pot to roughly determine the measurements - around 2 times the length of the pot to each corner [it doesn't need to be exact and the paper can be folded to size]:

Simply bring each side of the paper to meet the pot [you can temporarily stick in place if it helps] and then fold each corner up in line with the tree, pressing the fold either side to help hold the paper in place. Repeat with each corner in turn:

Tie a length of ribbon around the pot, as close to the top as you can and tie in a knot where you choose the 'front' of the plant to be:

To each corner in turn, fold the paper down, so that the point is in line with the bottom on the pot:

[if your paper is holding shape well, you make like the look without holding in place - create the style and finish that you like!]

...now wrap more ribbon, or the remaining length of ribbon to hold the paper in place:

I finished with a mini bow.

You can also embellish the tree with mini decorations - pom poms, baubles, ribbons, bells - I opted for a quick and simple star. If I had some fake snow spray, I might have used this too - you can choose based on the time you have and what craft supplies you have to hand.

These make great gifts, can be personalised and the wrap can be adapted to any size or shape of plant - and with just a few days to go, it won't break the bank either.

Before committing to anything, lay your pearls out on your jumper and try out your designs - take photos for reference and make sure you take the time to not just do a section, or one half - the overall look may be very different to what you imagine in your head, so it's definitely worth trying it our before hand [I originally had more detail on the neck line and more variation in the sizes until I realise the more simple design suited my taste:

You can also be as measured [or not] in your pearl placement as you want - if you are going for a symmetrical design, you can measure to ensure your pearls are evenly spaced, or you can go by eye - whatever you're comfortable with.

When happy with your design, use a toothpick to add your fabric glue to the back of each pearl in time:

Don't worry if you make a mistake, add a pearl in the wrong place or change your mind - you can remove the glue with a wet cloth, but you don't have long - this glue will adhere the pearls to your jumper in a few minutes:

The glue is completely washing machine safe too - so your pearls wont be coming off when you wear your new jumper!

Leave the jumper to dry and set completely before showing your new DIY off:

I have posted a very similar DIY in creating a flowergiftbox, but thought I'd add a few festive touches to the idea for Christmas.

Start with your gift box - and split this in half with a floral foam base one side, and the section for your gift the other. As my gifts are quite small, I created a cardboard ledge to hold the gifts higher and more in line with the top of the gift box and covered this in white felt as the base [you'll see why later].

This is another perfect craft for sitting in front of a movie with and is a simple, quick, cheap but great decoration for either the tree, presents or around the home any time of year. They're a bit over the top too, which you absolutely can get away with at this time of year.

I started with wooden letters as my base with a view to have a few single present tags and the option to create words on the tree.

I didn't have too much room for elaborate detailed design, so I made a glitter base:

[brushing a thin layer of mod podge on the letter before covering in glitter]

If you find any of your letters have gone patchy, add a little more mod podge/glue and repeat.

To decorate, I used flat-backed gemstones [left over from thisDIY], securing in place with mod podge - but you can buy adhesivegemstones [here], which will make this process even easier.

To ensure each gemstone was completely secure, I also added a bit more mod podge for good luck - a skewer/tooth pick really help with the small quantity needed and the small gemstones

Once completely dry, I added a loop for hanging at the top of each letter:

...and then you're ready to add them to presents:

...or to your Christmas decor:

My original plan was to also string beads to a length of thread and then secure to the outline of the letter with glue to add further detail. Still might - but for now they look just as effective without:

You can apply this decoration to any shape - with the glue and weight of the beads/gemstones involved, I'd recommend a wooden base, but thick cardboard, which you can cut to any shape and size you want would also work too!